


Lost & Found

by S_L_Blake



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Angst, Friendship, Gen, Good Fenrir, Hurt/Comfort, Lost - Freeform, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29437626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_L_Blake/pseuds/S_L_Blake
Summary: After her run in with Malfoy, Hermione just wants to be alone. When she finds herself lost in the Forbidden Forest will she be able to find her way out?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Lost & Found

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is a submission for my teams practice round before Season 9 begins of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition on FFnet. Thank you to my teammates: charlotteredmond99 and HP Slash Luv for betaing this. I do not own any rights to Harry Potter; they belong to J.K. Rowling.

_Filthy Mudblood._ That’s what Malfoy had called her with such scorn dripping from his voice as he looked at her with utter derision in his grey eyes. She knew it was a racial slur to suggest she had dirty blood simply because she was a Muggle-born, but the name had hurt her just as much as if he’d physically slapped her. It tore her apart inside. She knew full well that witches and wizards like her who had non-magical parents were looked down upon from the Pureblood elite, due to the fact they believed that those like her didn’t deserve to have magic – it wasn’t their right. Maybe she should have expected that he would say something so cruel but it had still thrown and pained her more than she would ever admit. At that moment, all she wanted was to be alone.

She couldn’t bear for her friends to see her cry or to give the nasty blond boy the satisfaction of seeing how upset she truly was. Pulling her school bag tightly over her shoulder, she ran out of the courtyard, ignoring the shouts from Harry, Ron, and the twins as well as the clear sniggers from Malfoy and his cronies as they watched her depart, her bushy brown hair bouncing on her shoulders. She felt the tears fall down her red cheeks that had been stung by the cold, crisp wind.

She didn’t bother to wipe the tears away, just let them continue to fall as she moved swiftly down the grassy path towards the Black Lake, the dark waves could be heard lapping at the shore. She could have stayed by the water, but Hermione knew full well that if she did, the boys would easily find her as it was one of her regular outside haunts she liked to visit when the weather was nice enough to study outside. She kept walking, going past the lake, her feet carrying her steadily away until she found that she’d gone past Hagrid’s Hut. No smoke wafted from the stone chimney so the half-giant and school games-keeper couldn’t be home, and she sighed in relief at the fact. She found herself pausing at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, the dense tree line loomed up out of the darkness, their rough arms seemingly barring the way inside to any lone student, ancient guards protecting the students from the vast dangers that moved deep within the murky woods. She could only see the tree line for a few metres in front of her, the rest was simple inky threatening blackness. She knew it was dangerous to even think about it, let alone attempt to go in by herself without an adult. It wasn’t safe, but she thought that as long as she stayed close to the edge of the tree line where she could see a way out, she’d be alright; she was sure of it.

With her school bag over her shoulder and the solid reassurance of the smooth vine wood wand in her hand, she cast Lumos, the bright light focussed at the end of her wand guiding her way as she entered the Forbidden Forest. She followed the seemingly trodden path through the undergrowth left, keeping to the edge of the woods the best as she could, ducking under a gnarled branch of a tree that seemed determined to snag on her clothing, but narrowly missed. The tears she had shed had dried now and the aching sadness she had first felt had now turned into a burning anger.

How _dare_ that blond stuck up prat call her what he had. He didn’t know her; he hadn’t even dared to try and get to know her. He’d simply made a judgment just because of her blood status and stuck with it. The fact of the matter was that the irritation she felt was also aimed at herself. She was annoyed for running away, when she knew that she should have hexed him, when instead she’d left the boys to fight her battle for her.

 _Damn it, I should have hexed him into next week and wiped that smug self-satisfied smirk off his face,_ she chided herself as she walked between the trees that seemed to reach up straight to the sky because they were so tall.

 _Yes, you should have but you didn’t, did you? You ran because you were upset and that’s not a bad thing, don’t blame yourself,_ her conscience chimed in, trying to reassure and comfort her.

She paused and took a deep breath of the refreshing, clean air before exhaling, calming down. Her conscience was right; she shouldn’t be annoyed with herself for how she’d reacted. It had been instinct. She decided that she’d keep walking for a while to clear her head and then once she felt ready, she’d return to the school and give him a piece of her mind. She was enjoying the walk by herself on the edge of the woods; it should have been frightening, but it wasn’t.

From where she was, she could hear birds chirping to each other up above in the high branches that were hidden from view. She smiled; it was nice to hear their melodious voices going back and forth. When she heard a loud crack from behind her, she froze, waiting a few minutes; when there was no other noise, she kept walking.

 _It must have just been an old branch coming away from a tree,_ she told herself, even as her heart had begun to pound in her chest, the icy lick of fear making goosebumps stand up on her neck. She continued on her stroll until there was another snap that came from only a few steps behind her; with it came hitched breathing that sent shivers down her spine. Someone or something was behind her.

Adrenaline dumped into her system and she ran straight ahead, dodging left and then right, not caring where she went as long as she lost whatever had followed her, wanting to put as much distance as she could between them. Her legs were burning from the exertion and a tight stitch in her side made her pause for breath. Leaning down, she took deep breaths, while her heart continued to race within her chest. Standing upright, she turned and moved her wand around in front of her – she was in a clearing of sorts, with a moss-covered small boulder under which ran a small stream, the trees providing the only other protection. She listened intently but when she heard no other movement, she was relieved with the knowledge that she had clearly outran her stalker. The only issue was, she was deeper in the forest than she’d intended and she knew deep down that she was lost. She’d been so focussed on getting away that she hadn’t taken note of the path she had gone down.

 _It’s fine, I’ll find my way back somehow, I have to,_ she told herself. Leaves crunched underfoot as she moved towards the stream and bent down, scooping up some water in her hands and drinking, the coldness of the water quenched the fire that was in her throat. The water itself tasted pure, so there had to be a spring nearby perhaps. But she wasn’t about to wander off in search of it, not when the spaces between the trees were filled with darkness.

There was no noise from any birds where she was, apart from her breathing it was eerily quiet which unnerved her. She didn’t know when it had happened, but a thick mist had fallen around her and when she breathed, she could see it in the air in front of her.

She wracked her mind for what the signs meant and what she came to filled her with dread. Wraiths appeared in these conditions, she’d read in one of her books that they were evil spirits that had business within the mortal world, feeding on the vulnerable who crossed paths with them. She moved her wand around, the light shining within the clearing, struggled through the mist, she couldn’t be sure if she was alone or not, but she knew there had been a tree not far behind her before the mist had appeared so she moved backwards, until she felt the rough barked chest of it.

A cloaked figure appeared on the other side of the clearing, the hood shielded its face and it hovered in mid-air; almost as if it was searching for something. Hermione couldn’t make out much, but she could see that it was clothed in tattered rags, the colour of the blackness that surrounded the forest. She knew that she could take a chance and run but it might be a bad idea, for once a wraith had a victim in sight it _wouldn’t_ let up until they were in its grasp.

The next thing she knew, it was heading towards her, floating through the mist, its skeletal hand outstretched, the fingers pointing at her.

“Come with me,” the wraith’s distorted voice rasped.

Utter dread filled her, her hands shaking even as she yelled defiantly, “Leave me alone!”

It wasn’t more than a few metres away from her now and she tried desperately to think of what the creature’s weaknesses were before realising it was light that they shied away from.

Raising her wand, she aimed it at the spectre that was moving ever closer, she could smell the decaying rot wafting from it and tried desperately not to gag and lose focus. _Lumos Solem_ was on the tip of her tongue, ready to send it away, but she never got the chance to defend herself.

There was a deep, threatening growl coming directly from her left and the next thing she heard was the wraith letting out an ear-piercing scream. Hermione covered her ears quickly, her eyes wide in shock and awe as she watched a large black wolf leap onto the wraith, its teeth snapping and tearing at the ragged robes until the wraith fled and with it, so did the mist.

Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest, but she knew she wasn’t out of danger yet, especially when the wolf turned and locked gazes with her. It had a grey muzzle with hazel eyes which had a gold ring around the iris, but its teeth weren’t bared at her; it was simply studying her, its head cocked to the side before it changed into a man.

A werewolf had saved her life!

The man was at least six feet, a scar above and below his left eye. His shoulder length hair was black streaked with grey, the same with his beard, but his eyes were inquisitive, perhaps even gentle. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and boots but was bare chested which was littered with silver scars across his skin.

His hands came up in a placating gesture, his deep voice seeming to boom around the clearing as he moved slowly towards her. “Dinna be afraid of me lass, yer safe now. Though it would seem as a student of Hogwarts, yer far away from where ye should be. Why is that?”

“You’re a werewolf!” Hermione exclaimed, her chestnut brown eyes wide in disbelief at what she’d just witnessed.

“Aye, that I am. My name is Fenrir Greyback, my brother is the alpha of the pack that lives within this forest. I’d come to visit my family but ye running earlier was my fault, I’m sorry. The moment a child enters the forest alone, we feel it and I came to check on ye. The fear ye had got the better of ye and I ken that’s why ye ran. Though ye didna answer my question, Miss Granger.”

“How do you know my name?”

“There’s not much the pack doesna ken, news travelled last year of the group of students serving detention within these woods. We have a civil rapport with the centaurs and heard what had happened.”

“Oh. Well, I came here to be alone, to clear my head.”

“Ye were upset.”

When she looked at him questioningly, he smiled. “All my senses are heightened; I could smell the saltiness of the tears ye’d shed. But why come here?”

“Because I had nowhere else to go that I knew my friends wouldn’t follow, I figured if I stayed by the edge that I would be alright and well, now I’m lost,” she answered, disappointment in her tone that was aimed at herself for perhaps being foolish.

“May I ask what or who upset ye, to make ye come here?”

“A boy, Draco Malfoy, he called me… he called me a Mudblood.”

Fenrir’s eyes gleamed the amber of the wolf brightly and a low growl reverberated up from his chest, making Hermione flinch. “I’m sorry ye were called that, lass. I didna mean to frighten ye either. Name calling of any sort doesna sit well with me. But I know the damage it can do, the pain it can cause, I was named a ‘filthy abomination that deserved nothing more than death’ by a wizard once, simply because of what I am. But ye mustn’t let it get to ye, it doesna define who ye are, only yer actions can do that.”

Hermione felt relief at being understood by someone who had had a similar experience. “Thank you, Fenrir, not just for saving my life but for listening.”

He smiled down at her. “Yer welcome, now would ye like an escort back to the entrance?”

“Yes, please,” Hermione said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, but glad that he was going to help her once more.

She followed him through the woods, her wand lighting her way, though Fenrir didn’t seem to need light; his senses were what guided him through the rows of trees until she could see light filtering through the space between the thick bodies.

“Thank you for this, Fenrir.”

“It was my pleasure, Miss Granger. If it ever happens again where ye want to be alone or even if ye want company, simply come here and say my name. I’ll come to ye.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, gratefully. As she left the forest and made her way back up to the school, she paused to turn and wave at him before heading towards the castle, where she knew her friends would surely be. While she didn’t regret ending up in the Forbidden Forest and meeting Fenrir, it would be nice to see Harry and Ron again. Hermione was sure that they would be worried about her and she wanted to see them as soon as she could to assuage their fears. She would tell them of the adventure she had alone in the Forbidden Forest – not just of how she’d found herself lost but how she had been found too.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, let me know what you thought by leaving a review.  
> I'll see you all soon,  
> S L Blake x


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